Abstract
BACKGROUND: In low resource settings, maximizing effective use of emergency room (ER) services is imperative. This problem is anecdotally observed in the public hospital setting in Santiago, Dominican Republic (DR). There are no studies presently published examining ER use in this pediatric population or reasons caregivers choose to utilize the pediatric ER. Financial and systemic limitations have been previously cited as important contributors to the high pediatric mortality rate in the DR. METHODS: In this cross-sectional, descriptive study, a survey was administered to 117 caregivers (e.g. mother, father) of children in the ER at Hospital Especializado Juan XXIII over an eight-week period. Survey questions included perceived urgency of illness, education level, monthly income, and frequency of ER visits in the last six months. We defined frequent ER visits as greater than four visits within the last six months, low income as below 10,000 pesos/month, and low education as having no high school education. Logistic regression was used to assess significant associations between variables. RESULTS: Caregivers in the pediatric ER were predominantly female (94%) with a mean age of 30 ± 11 years. 72% of respondents reported the child's problem as "extremely urgent," while 82% of the children were triaged as non-urgent. Children of caregivers with any high school education had 69% lower odds of having 4 or more ED visits in the last 6 months (OR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.13-0.75; p = 0.009), compared to children of caregivers with no high school education, after adjusting for the income category of the caregiver. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived urgency of pediatric medical problems may contribute to increased use of the ER for non-urgent medical problems. Low education level is associated with increased pediatric ER use over a six-month period. Assessing utilization of pediatric ERs in the public health care system in Santiago could provide a framework for the design of targeted educational and systemic changes, supporting the ultimate goal of providing the best possible care for pediatric patients in low-resource settings.